Alexithymia and Dysthymia
Isabella
Citizen
I have both Alexithymia and Dysthymia. They're complicated by my selective mutism which makes verbal / written expression very difficult when I have a surge of emotions, whether good, bad, or in between.
Emotion and expression are extremely challenging for me.
I tend to rate my emotions as "good" or "bad" because the nuance or subtlety in between is too complex for me to identify, name, or discuss.
Does anyone else have issues with Alexithymia, or Dysthymia?
Please share your experiences, your thoughts, and your research.
Comments
I used to have trouble sorting out my emotions. There used to be a considerable delay between what inspired an emotional reaction and when it actually hit me. I don't think it is a big problem these days, but recently you "saw" me wondering "out loud", if I would be hit hard by a recent event.
Regarding depression: I have been profoundly sad, but I haven't been depressed for over 35 years, thankfully.
I have alexithmyia and have had it my entire life. I used to not really "feel" a lot of emotions when I was a kid since I just didn't recognize them, so I mostly ignored them. I now recognize emotions by analyzing how I physically feel, which I've only properly begun doing within the past few years. I didn't have anyone recognize alexithmyia in me and help me develop a better sense for my emotions when I was younger, so now I have to do that myself as an adult.
Regarding dysthymia/persistent depression, I guess I have depressive episodes, but ironically my alexithmyia makes it hard for me to tell if I'm depressed beyond those episodes. I've been told that the way I describe feeling most of the time is depression, but I honestly don't notice many differences in my default state from when I was a kid and now, and I doubt I was depressed as a little kid.
https://embraceasd.com/online-alexithymia-questionnaire/
https://embraceasd.com/alexithymia-and-autism-guide/
Here's an interesting Alexithymia questionnaire, for anyone who's interested, along with an article about Alexithymia, which describes its presentation in Autism.
The questionnaire is designed for people with Aspergers or ASD1, but I'm sure it's applicable for those of us with Moderate Autism and other ND conditions.
I'm working on similar research and training for Alexithymia, Dysthymia, and Interoception with my OT.
I was diagnosed with severe Alexithymia during my ASD assessment, and it's an area of study that I find very helpful with self-awareness, and sensory regulation.
Probably have it,not going to bother with the test though